Method and applications of thin-film membrane transfer

ABSTRACT

The disclosure relates to method and apparatus for micro-contact printing of micro-electromechanical systems (“MEMS”) in a solvent-free environment. The disclosed embodiments enable forming a composite membrane over a parylene layer and transferring the composite structure to a receiving structure to form one or more microcavities covered by the composite membrane. The parylene film may have a thickness in the range of about 100 nm-2 microns; 100 nm-1 micron, 200-300 nm, 300-500 nm, 500 nm to 1 micron and 1-30 microns. Next, one or more secondary layers are formed over the parylene to create a composite membrane. The composite membrane may have a thickness of about 100 nm to 700 nm to several microns. The composite membrane&#39;s deflection in response to external forces can be measured to provide a contact-less detector. Conversely, the composite membrane may be actuated using an external bias to cause deflection commensurate with the applied bias. Applications of the disclosed embodiments include tunable lasers, microphones, microspeakers, remotely-activated contact-less pressure sensors and the like.

BACKGROUND

The application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 14/541,071(filed Nov. 13, 2014) which claims the filing-date priority ofProvisional Application No. 61/903,507 (filed Nov. 13, 2013) and is acontinuation-in-part (CIP) of application Ser. No. 13/844,270, filedMar. 15, 2013, which claimed priority to Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/696,041, filed Aug. 31, 2012; the instant application is also acontinuation-in-part (CIP) of application Ser. No. 13/604,613, filedSep. 5, 2012 (which claims priority to Provisional Application No.61/528,148, filed Aug. 27, 2011); and application Ser. No. 12/636,757(now U.S. Pat. No. 8,739,390), filed Dec. 13, 2009 (which claimspriority to Provisional Application No. 61/138,014, filed Dec. 16,2008); the instant application is also a continuation-in-part (CIP) ofapplication Ser. No. 12/903,149, filed Oct. 12, 2010 (which claimspriority to Provisional Application No. 61/251,255, filed Oct. 13,2009). The disclosure of each of these applications are incorporatedherein in its entirety.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to method and apparatus for transfer printing (oradditive fabrication) of micro-electromechanical systems (“MEMS”). Morespecifically, the disclosure relates to novel applications and methodsfor solvent-free transfer printing of MEMS structures.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

MEMS applied over large areas enable applications in such diverse areasas sensor skins for humans and vehicles, phased array detectors andadaptive-texture surfaces. MEMS can be incorporated into large areaelectronics. Conventional photolithography-based methods for fabricatingMEMS have provided methods and tools for producing small features withextreme precision in processes that can be integrated with measurementand control circuits. However, the conventional methods are limited toworking within the existing silicon semiconductor-based framework.Therefore, there is a need for improved processes that enableconstruction of novel MEMS devices heretofore unattainable.

SUMMARY

The disclosed embodiments are directed to forming MEMS structures viasolvent-free methods. In one embodiment, the MEMS structure is formed bydepositing a parylene layer over a supporting structure. The supportingstructure may comprise any one of a silicon, silicon dioxide orquartz-growth, or plastic or metal foil substrate. The supportingstructure may be rigid or semi-rigid. The parylene may be formeddirectly over the supporting structure using, for example, chemicalvapor deposition (CVD). The parylene film may have a thickness in therange of about 100 nm-2 microns; 100 nm-1 micron, 200-300 nm, 300-500nm, 500 nm to 1 micron and 1-30 microns. Next, one or more secondarylayers are formed over the parylene to create a composite membrane. Thesecondary layers may comprise conductive, semi-conductive ornon-conductive material. The secondary layers may comprise organic orinorganic material. The composite membrane may have a thickness of about100 nm to 700 nm to several microns. In an exemplary embodiment, thecomposite membrane of about 250 nm may include a 200 nm parylene layerand a 50 nm gold layer.

The composite membrane may be then delaminated from the supportingstructure and transferred onto a receiving substrate. The receivingsubstrate may include one or more ridges defining at least one cavity.The composite membrane may be aligned and positioned over the cavity toat least partially cover the cavity. In an exemplary embodiment, thecavity is entirely covered by the composite membrane.

In one embodiment, the disclosure relates to a solvent-free additivemembrane transfer technique in an electrostatically tunable organicdevice where electrical actuation and optical characterization of acompleted device show spectral tuning greater than 20 nm for membranedeflections of over 200 nm at 50 V. Shorter optical cavities with fewermodes, fabricated using a solvent-free additive membrane transfertechnique result in higher tunable range at a lower applied voltage. Thedisclosed device structure may be applied to pressure/acoustic sensing,sound production, and tunable optical device applications (includingorganic lasing applications). The composite membrane elements may bevaried in both geometry and composition to optimize device performanceand to explore other physical phenomenon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other embodiments of the disclosure will be discussed withreference to the following exemplary and non-limiting illustrations, inwhich like elements are numbered similarly, and where:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a process according to oneembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 schematically shows the cross-sectional area of a deviceaccording to one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows the optical cavity mode spectra shift for a deviceaccording to one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows a plot of the lasing mode intensity shift versus wavelengthfrom a device manufactured according to a disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 5 schematically shows an optical contactless pressure sensoraccording to one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate exemplary capacitive transducers according tovarious embodiments of the disclosure;

FIGS. 7A and 7B schematically show zipper actuators according toembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 8A schematically shows a cross section of a tunable laser devicestructure according to one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 8B is an optical interferometry difference image ofmembrane-covered cavities under applied bias according to an embodimentof the disclosure;

FIGS. 9A-9D show the measured device cavity mode characteristics underapplied bias for the exemplary device of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 10A shows device emission spectra for select pump energy densitiesto illustrate spectral output just below and just above the lasingthreshold power for the exemplary device of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 10B shows peak intensity of spectral mode (left axis) and modewidth (right axis) as a function of estimated excitation energy densityillustrate transition between cavity mode and lasing mode at threshold;

FIG. 11A shows tuning laser emission wavelength using electrostaticpressure demonstrating reversible tunable range from λ=637 nm to aboutλ=628 nm in response to 6 V actuation for the exemplary device of FIG.8A;

FIG. 11B shows peak wavelength of lasing mode as a function of appliedbias, demonstrating less than 1 nm hysteresis between forward andreverse sweeps;

FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-section of the device structure and testsetup according to one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 13 schematically illustrates the fabrication process for themembrane-microcavity structure of the device of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14A shown the contact transfer of membrane to the bottom substrateof FIG. 13;

FIG. 14B shows actual deflections from membrane covered cavities thatwere formed using the fabrication process of FIG. 14A;

FIG. 15 shows membrane deflection profile for a single cavity as afunction of applied voltage;

FIG. 16 shows net membrane deflection for a MEMS device formed accordingto one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 17 shows an exemplary longitudinal mode emission spectra for arange of applied voltages for the exemplary device according to oneembodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 18 shows a fitted peak wavelength and corresponding calculatedmembrane deflection as a function of applied voltage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosed embodiments are generally directed to a solvent-free,room-temperature method for transferring very thin unsupportedfunctional films along with several novel MEMS and optoelectronicdevices that can be fabricated using such suspended micron- andsubmicron-thick composite membranes. In one application,poly-para-xylylenes (Parylenes) are used as very thin unsupportedfunctional films.

In one embodiment, the disclosure relates to a solvent-freeroom-temperature method for transferring very thin unsupportedfunctional films along with novel MEMS and optoelectronic devicesfabricated using the disclosed suspended micron- and submicron-thickcomposite membranes. The solvent-free release and transfer technique forthin membranes may be enabled by using a micron- or sub-micron-thickvapor-deposited polymer, parylene. The chemically robust parylene filmcan be compatible with both vapor- and solution-based deposition methodsuseful for the fabrication of composite membranes having an arbitrarynumber of patterned layers of active materials. The active layers can beformed of metal, oxide, nanoparticle, polymer, or small molecule organicthin films, with each layer a few Angstroms to hundreds of nanometersthick. Despite their ultrathin nature, the large area (mm²-dm²)parylene-based multi-layer membranes maintain their structural integritywhen fully released from the carrier substrate on which they arefabricated. The membranes can then be transferred to a pre-patternedsubstrate to form suspended-membrane cavity device structures.

These innovative techniques may be applied to fabricate a variety ofdevice structures for both MEMS, optoelectronics and other applications,including: optical MEMS such as tunable MEMS organic vertical-cavitysurface-emitting lasers (VCSEL), contactless readout optical pressuresensors and capacitive MEMS including speakers, microspeakers,microphones, capacitive pressure sensors.

Parylenes conventionally defines a class of conformal, pinhole-freetransparent polymers formed by vapor deposition polymerization. Parylenehas been used as both moisture and dielectric barriers. Several types ofparylene are commercially available, differing in their ring-substitutedspecies and corresponding dielectric, mechanical and chemicalproperties. One of the most common parylene polymers, parylene C,substitutes a chlorine atom for one of the aromatic hydrogen atoms.Compared to the unsubstituted parylene N, parylene C deposits as adenser film with higher breakdown voltages for films thinner than five(5) microns. Parylene C's excellent solvent resistance and barrierproperties have been exploited for industrial use to encapsulate circuitboards, biomedical devices and for other barrier coatings. In themoderate vacuum deposition process, the substrate remains at roomtemperature and is not subjected to solvents, reactive reagents orcatalysts which are often required for deposition of other polymers.

Parylenes offers a wide range of desirable chemical, mechanical,electrical and optical properties. Parylene C in particular combines arelatively high melting point of 290° C. with mechanical strength andchemical resistance. The room temperature vapor deposition process formssmooth, conformal, homogeneous low dielectric constant (k) films withlow residual stress and high flexibility and heat moldability.

Parylene has been shown to form continuous, pinhole-free layers atthicknesses as low as 30 nm. Its flexibility and mechanical robustnessat very thin layer thicknesses enables the solvent-free release offree-standing membranes. In our laboratory we have demonstrated thatlarge-area (up to 100 mm diameter) free-standing parylene films as thinas 250 nm-thick can be peeled off of silicon or glass wafers as acontinuous sheet.

The relatively chemically inert and insoluble parylene surface isamenable to thin film deposition by both vapor- and solution-basedmethods, such as thermal evaporation, sputtering, and spin-casting.Because parylene films are formed via an inline vacuum depositionprocess, the parylene surface can be kept pristine and free ofcontaminants such as dust particles, oxygen, or water which cannegatively impact the performance of subsequently-deposited activelayers. In fact, parylene itself can be used as an encapsulant forsensitive materials.

Suspended-membrane MEMS microstructures are typically fabricated bysilicon micromachining techniques that often involve harsh chemicaland/or plasma etches, wafer bonding and elevated temperature processing.As an alternative, microcontact printing process demonstrates additivefabrication of thin suspended metal films using an elastomeric transferpad. One such process was disclosed in patent application Ser. No.12/903,149 filed by Applicant on Oct. 12, 2010 (the disclosure of whichis incorporated herein in its entirety).

This contact printing process avoids using solvents, etchants andelevated temperatures. However, it relies on significant adhesive forceson the receiving substrate surface (e.g., Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS))to successfully transfer films off the transfer pad, limiting the choiceof substrate materials. The introduction of a solvent-assisted releasestep relaxes the surface adhesive force requirements and enables the useof a wider range of substrates (e.g. PDMS, Si, SiO2) by lowering thestamping and lift-off pressures required. One such process was disclosedin patent application Ser. No. 13/604,613 filed by Applicant on Sep. 5,2012 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety).

While the solvent-assisted contact printing process could be utilized tofabricate and transfer a multi-layer composite membrane, the compositeis limited to solvent-insensitive materials. This requirement precludesthe use of most organic semiconductors, which are of interest foroptoelectronic applications including lasers and photovoltaics powersources.

In contrast, the parylene-based membrane transfer method presented inaccordance with the instant disclosure provides an additive process thatallows the integration of both solvent- and temperature-sensitivematerials into multi-layer composite membranes. The separation ofmembrane fabrication from patterning of the receiving substrate protectssensitive materials in the membrane (e.g., organic semiconductors) fromharsh processing conditions without limiting the allowable fabricationprocesses used to fabricate other parts of the complete device.

Exemplary methods are disclosed herein for membrane fabrication, releaseand solvent-free transfer in accordance with various embodiments of thedisclosure. It should be noted that the disclosed embodiments, includingranges and other provided dimensions are exemplary and non-exclusive.

In one exemplary implementation, a rigid or semi-rigid carrier orsupporting substrate (e.g., glass or polyimide) was cleaned and treatedwith a release agent (such as a 1% solution of Micro-90 detergent) toallow easier release of the completed membrane after fabrication. A baselayer of parylene (e.g., 200 nm-1 micron thick) was deposited bychemical vapor deposition (CVD) onto the supporting substrate.

It should be noted that although other parylene variants may beemployed, for demonstrated devices a singly-chlorinated version ofparylene (e.g., poly-chloro-p-xylylene or parylene-C) was used, andreferences to “parylene” hereafter refer to parylene-C. Metal, oxide,nanoparticle, polymer, and/or organic layers may then be sequentiallydeposited and patterned on top of the parylene. The exact stackcomposition and layout (materials, layer thicknesses, geometries) may bedetermined as a function of the specific application. A flexible cutouthandle frame was attached to the completed multi-layer membrane (aroundall edges for even tensioning) and the membrane was delaminated from thecarrier. The continuous sheet may then be transferred to a pre-patternedsubstrate (i.e., receiving substrate) with or without inverting themembrane. The handle was then removed to leave behind the unsupportedmembrane. The handle removal can be implemented by methods such ascutting or dry etching.

In one embodiment, lateral patterning of each active layer deposited onthe parylene membrane allows the fabrication of multiple multi-layerstacks with disparate functionalities in different areas on the samemembrane. Fabrication of multiple arrays of suspended-membrane cavitiescan be completed in a single transfer. A single membrane can cover theentire receiving substrate. The area transferred (i.e., the membranesurface area) is limited only by the mechanical robustness of themembrane. In one application a membrane area larger than 70 cm² wasproduced using the disclosed principles. Beyond the relatively smoothplanar carrier substrates used to fabricate the demonstrated devices, amicro-textured or nano-patterned carrier might enable the fabrication of3D structured membranes for transfer. Such a carrier template could bedesigned to confer specific stress-relieving properties or opticaleffects in the membrane. According to one embodiment of the disclosure,the conformal nature of parylene deposition enables a uniform coatingthickness even at very thin layers.

In some specific embodiments it may not be desirable to keep parylene aspart of the completed membrane stack. Although insoluble in most organicsolvents and resistant to acid and base attack, parylene may be dryetched in an oxygen plasma thereby allowing removal of the exposedparylene base layer of an inverted transferred membrane. Severalexamples of novel MEMS technologies fabricated using the solvent-freemembrane transfer method are presented below for non-limitingillustrative purposes.

Tunable Lasers-Compact, single system dynamically tunable lasers aredesirable for a number of applications ranging from basic scientificresearch to commercial uses such as telecommunications, displays ormedical imaging systems. Currently, tunable MEMS VCSELs using inorganiclasing semiconductors have gained popularity. Operating at infrared (IR)wavelengths, such devices have been commercialized for biomedicaloptical coherence tomography (OCT) systems. However, comparable compactvisible wavelength lasers are not commercially available. Conventionallyreported frequency-tunable laser devices in the visible spectrum haveemployed unwieldy external micro-actuated mirror stages in externalcavity systems, switchable gain media, very high operating voltages, orfabrication of multiple lasers, each with a predetermined outputspectrum. These conventional systems are often bulky and inconvenient toemploy in device applications or involve costly non-scalable fabricationtechniques such as electron beam lithography. Thus, there is atechnological need for compact tunable lasing devices in the visiblewavelengths.

Organic-based lasing materials offer broad tunability in the visiblespectrum, and a variety of polymer and small molecule organic systemshave been utilized for solid state lasers. For example, organic gainmedium lasers have been disclosed in a microcavity VCSEL geometry toprovide tunable organic VCSEL devices that utilize MEMS structures tochange the optical cavity length. This approach relies on etching out asacrificial layer to form the variable air-gap, unlike the disclosedadditive membrane fabrication process. Etching a sacrificial layer toform a variable air-gap has been demonstrated for inorganic lasingsystems that emit in the infrared but not for organic lasing materialswhich would degrade due to exposure to the typical etchants andsolvents.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the cross-sectional area of a deviceaccording to one embodiment of the disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 2illustrates an exemplary device architecture for lasing and pressuresensing applications. The device architecture may use the transferprinted flexible composite membrane disclosed herein. In FIG. 2, thecomposite membrane 216 comprises an organic gain medium 218, as well assilver mirror 220, which forms a resonator cavity with the distributedBragg reflector (DBR) 212 deposited on substrate 210 prior to themembrane transfer. The membrane transfer may be implemented inaccordance to the disclosed embodiments.

In FIG. 2, spacer layer 214 is photolithographically patterned in anepoxide-based photoresist, Micro-Chem® SU-8, but other materialsincluding but not limited to silicon dioxide (SiO₂) or silicon nitride(SiN) may also be used. Applying a voltage bias between the ITO bottomelectrode 211 and metallic membrane 222 or the silver mirror 220electrostatically actuates composite membrane 200 to dynamically tunethe device optical spectra by decreasing the height of cavity 224.Interferometric imaging confirms that the top mirror is mechanicallydeflected with applied bias.

In FIG. 2, active layer 218 provides optical emission with wavelengthswithin the acceptable reflective range of mirror 212 and mirror 220. Inthe exemplary structure, active layer 218 provides luminescence to formcavity modes or optical gain to form lasing mode. An external opticalpump optimized for active layer absorption can be used to excite thelayer. Active layer material includes but not limited to organic dyes,emissive polymer or nanoparticles.

In an experiment where bias was applied to the electrodes 211 and 222,the emission spectra shifted as a function of the applied bias. FIG. 3shows the optical cavity mode spectra shift for a device opticallypumped below the lasing threshold. For the device tested in FIG. 3, thetunable range of electrostatic pressure is over 23 nm. In FIG. 3, thefitted peak of the 637 nm cavity mode indicates a reversible tunablerange up to 23 nm. For the device of FIG. 3, the estimated equivalentelectrostatic pressure ranges up to 6 kPa, suggests the applicability ofthe device for all-optical remote pressure sensing.

FIG. 4 shows a plot of normalized intensity versus wavelength from adevice manufactured according to a disclosed embodiment. Specifically,FIG. 4 plots the measured emission spectra of a similar device(fabricated with more optimized device dimensions), which exhibited over10 nm laser mode tuning for applied voltages up to 6 V. To furtherdecrease the operating voltage, the structure can be optimized beyondthe fabricated devices, for example, by placing the bottom electrodeover (instead of under) the DBR mirror or by replacing DBR 212 and ITO211 with a thin reflective film of silver (not shown) to serve as boththe bottom mirror and the electrode.

Contactless readout optical pressure sensors-To form the tunable cavityor laser in the previous exemplary device, an electrostatic pressure isdeliberately applied to the membrane-cavity structure to shift theemitted laser wavelength. In another embodiment-the cavity mode orlasing mode shifts are observed in response to ambient pressure, therebyusing the device as a mechanical pressure sensor with optical readout.Because the device is intrinsically a contactless readout system thatcan be remotely interrogated, an all-optical (optically driven andoptically sensed) pressure sensor may be used in environments that donot allow electrical wiring or external connections.

Conventional all-optical photonic crystal-based pressure sensors havebeen reported using patterned array of nano-pillars. However, theconventional sensing process requires additional two-dimensional imagingand analysis of interference patterns. The disclosed embodiment inutilizing composite membranes for tunable cavity or lasing is the firststep in realizing a pneumatic pressure sensor. The disclosed embodimentrelaxes the image processing system requirements due to the high lasingoutput intensity and single point wavelength detection.

FIG. 5 schematically shows an optical contactless pressure sensoraccording to one embodiment of the disclosure. Here, the organic gainmedium is deposited inside the micro-cavity instead of the suspended smembrane. The device of FIG. 5 includes glass substrate 510, bottommirror 512, spacer layer 513, organic gain medium (active layer) 508,parylene membrane 514 and silver (Ag) mirror 516. For the lasing deviceshown in FIG. 5, the equivalent pressure on the membrane at 6V appliedbias is calculated to be about 60 Pa. This suggests a pressuresensitivity of approximately 1 nm wavelength shift per 6 Pa appliedpressure. The device sensitivity may be increased to match applicationspecifications by optimizing the device structure, e.g., by increasingthe area of the suspended membrane 500 or by decreasing the flexurerigidity of membrane 500.

In one implementation, light of known wavelength/s may be directed atsubstrate 510. The substrate may be transparent to the excitation sourcewavelength. The light rays may be provided by an external light source,such as a light emitting diode (LED) device or a pump laser. The lightrays will optically excite the organic gain medium 508 inside eachcavity 517 to produce optical rays with wavelengths determined by theoptical cavity, known as cavity modes. The external light sourceintensity may be increased to create lasing action in cavity to producelasing mode. An external pressure will cause membrane 500 to deflectinward as shown in FIG. 5. The deflection will change the height in thecavity, thereby changing the wavelengths of light inside cavities. Thechange in wavelengths of the light inside each cavity 517 will cause achange in color of the cavity modes or lasing mode. Wavelength filtereddetectors (such as a spectrometer, single wavelength detection systemsor interferometer) can be used to detect changes in color and therebycorrelate the color change to the external pressure. The device of FIG.5 does not require biasing the device to readout the exerted pressure.But the device could be biased, if needed, using an external powersource. For example, an additional electrical bias can be applied tofurther linearize the response. The external pressure could then furtherdeflect the membrane.

Decreasing rigidity of membrane 500 may be accomplished by lowering thetotal membrane thickness (e.g., by reducing the metal mirror thickness)or by choosing material of lower Young's modulus. It is also possible tothin membrane 500 by moving the organic gain medium either partially orcompletely out of the composite membrane and into other regions of themicrocavity. FIG. 5 shows an example of a device structure with theorganic gain medium (active layer) deposited in the cavities on thepatterned bottom substrate instead of embedded in the suspendedmembrane.

It should be noted that although the disclosed device employsvapor-deposited small-molecule organic semiconductors as the organicgain medium, other materials and deposition methods may be used toincorporate the gain medium into the device structure without departingfrom the disclosed principles. For example, it may be possible to fillthe cavity with an inkjet-printed polymer or quantum dot gain orcolloidal quantum dots material prior to depositing the suspendedmembrane.

Capacitive MEMS transducer applications-In one disclosed embodiment, theparylene-assisted transfer method is used to fabricate a wide variety ofcapacitive MEMS sensors and actuators such as pressure sensors,microphones, microspeakers, hearing aids, ultrasound transducers, andlarge-area arrays of these sensors and actuators.

A capacitive transducer may include an electrically-conductivedeflectable diaphragm or membrane that is suspended over a counterelectrical electrode. The membrane can be a composite membrane,comprising one or more metals, polymers, organic films and combinationsthereof. The distance between the membrane and the counter-electrodedetermines the capacitance of the structure. A capacitive transducer canbe electrically described as a variable capacitor since its capacitancechanges with the instantaneous distance between the membrane and thecounter electrode.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate exemplary capacitive transducers according tovarious embodiments of the disclosure. Each of the embodiments of FIGS.6A and 6B includes substrate 610, spacer layer 612, parylene layer 616and top electrode 614. FIGS. 6A and 6B provide a schematic cross-sectionof suspended membrane structure with parylene-based membrane additivelytransferred on top of spacer layer without inverting (FIG. 6A) orinverted (FIG. 6B). In one embodiment, the substrate itself may serve ascounter electrode or may include arbitrarily patterned electrodes orother active layers for enhanced functionality.

Such a structure can be used to sense any physical phenomenon thatcauses the distance between the membrane and the counter electrode tochange, such as pneumatic/mechanical pressure fluctuations and soundwaves. Additionally, a time-varying electrical signal may be appliedbetween suspended membrane 600 and the counter electrode to continuouslydisplace membrane 600 with respect to the counter electrode. Themembrane displacement, in turn, results in the displacement of air nextto the membrane, generating sound.

In one embodiment, the counter electrode(s) are deposited, implanted orpatterned on substrate 610. Substrate 610 may serve as a counterelectrode if it is a conductor or a semiconductor or a highly-dopedsemiconductor. Additionally, a thin conducting film such as indium tinoxide (ITO) may be deposited and patterned to form counter electrodes onthe substrate if substrate 610 is an insulator, as in the case of glassand polymeric substrates. Furthermore, control electronics—such as driveand sense circuitry for each cavity transducer, drive and senseelectrodes for each cavity transducer, and transducer-array controlelectronics (for phasing and/or beam-forming) for simultaneous actuationor operation of multiple transducers—may be implemented in the substrateprior to the MEMS fabrication process (including membrane transfer). Forexample, the drive electrodes at the bottom of each cavity may bepatterned to effect an asymmetrical deflection of the membrane in eachcavity, enabling the implementation of deflectable mirrors with tunablenormals for digital micromirror devices utilized in digital lightprocessing technologies. Such control electronics may also beimplemented using an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) notlocalized on the MEMS device substrate.

FIGS. 7A and 7B schematically show zipper actuators according toembodiments of the disclosure. Specifically, FIGS. 7A and 7B showschematic cross-section of a suspended membrane structure implementing acapacitive zipper actuator. Each of FIGS. 7A and 7B show substrate 740supporting a membrane that comprises insulator 720 and conductingmembrane 710. Insulator 720 may comprise parylene. FIG. 7B shows secondinsulator 730. The substrate serves as counter electrode if it isconducting or semiconducting. Otherwise, an additional conducting filmmay be deposited on the substrate to form a counter electrode to thesuspended membrane. Insulator 730 can be the same as Insulator 720,depending on the transducer functionality.

The capacitive zipper actuator of FIGS. 7A and 7B may also be fabricatedusing the aforementioned transfer-printing technique. In such actuators,the cavities in the underlying substrate have sloping sidewalls,allowing the applied electrical field to be concentrated near the top ofthe cavity. This enables the application of smaller voltages to achievemembrane deflections. Such an actuator could potentially produce largerrecoverable deflections of the suspended membrane, for applications inacoustics and optics.

Furthermore, a single composite membrane can be used to enclose cavitiesof varying geometries (sizes, diameters, depths, and shapes) toimplement a range of different functions and specifications on a singledevice. This can enable different membrane deflection depths anddeflection profiles to be achieved in different areas of the samemembrane.

Moreover, the composite membrane may also enclose chemicals/reactantswithin the membrane itself, and also in the underlying cavities, henceforming electrically-actuated chemical reaction cells. The membrane mayrelease the encapsulated chemicals into the underlying cavities uponelectrically-assisted mechanical rupture of the membrane. This can beachieved by simply applying a voltage or current signal between themembrane and the counter electrode at the bottom of the underlyingcavities.

Conventionally, capacitive MEMS devices have been fabricated usingintegrated-circuit (IC) fabrication technologies. The high aspect-ratiofeatures often necessary in these devices are usually fabricated usingdeep reactive-ion etching (DRIE), which is a costly, solvent-heavy andtime-consuming. Conductive membranes that can deflect have to bedeposited via high temperature and pressure processes, and thenunder-etched. These processing steps add to the overall processing-timeand cost of the final device. The disclosed embodiments obviate DRIEdeficiencies and enable the simple additive fabrication of conductivemembranes for MEMS devices at room temperature via transfer-printing.

The disclosed transfer-printing process allows the fabrication ofmultiple devices in a small spatial footprint. Multiplesensors/actuators or high sensor/actuator density is necessary forvarious applications such as high quality earphone sound,spatially-resolved pressure sensing for structural integrity and windtunnel testing, and phased array acoustic imaging. These applicationscan be addressed using the disclosed fabrication technology.Additionally, since the MEMS sensors and actuators fabricated using theaforementioned processes are capacitive in design, their powerconsumption is lower due to low current consumption. This aids inprolonging the battery life of devices in which these sensors andactuators are used. Furthermore, the disclosed technologies may be usedfor fabricating texture-adaptive surfaces (in which micro-scaledeflections can be actuated across an array) that hold promise for suchapplications as reflective displays, cryptography, and adaptive optics.

Electrically Tunable VCSEL and Contactless Pressure Sensors-As brieflydiscussed, the development of compact, tunable laser arrays benefitsmany applications including remote sensing, spectroscopy, opticalswitching, and large-area sensory skins. For applications that requirelarge-area sensing, in particular, it is desirable to develop lasingstructures that could be scalably deployed, and that operate in thevisible or near-infrared range, which can be easily imaged. In thisspectral range, molecular and polymeric organic thin films have alreadybeen demonstrated as broadly tunable lasing gain media, with somereports demonstrating lasing over a >100 nm wavelength range using asingle organic guest-host material system. Also, due to the developmentof commercialized organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies,multiple techniques have been developed for large-area deposition oforganic thin films, such as those needed for demonstrating lasingaction. In this work, we combine the large area processability oforganic thin films and a unique method for fabricating MEMS structuresto demonstrate arrays of VCSEL. These devices have an effective cavitylength that is as small as 3 wavelengths (3λ) and a lasing wavelengththat is mechanically tunable over Δλ=10 nm with 6V of electrostaticmembrane actuation.

Many earlier studies demonstrated lasing emission from organic thinfilms with a broad gain spectrum, which enabled broad tunability of thelasing emission line. However, the lasing emission spectrum of a typicaltunable organic solid state laser, reported to date, is fixed by thefabrication process parameters and cannot be dynamically varied postfabrication. In a few works that demonstrated dynamically tunableorganic lasers, spectral tuning was implemented by using external mirrorstages or with manually switchable gain media modules.

More compact, integrated organic lasing systems employing electroactivepolymers or liquid crystals to electrically tune the emission wavelengthhave also been demonstrated, but often required high actuation voltages(0.1-3.5 kV). In contrast, inorganic state-of-the art lithographicallyfabricated air-gap MEMS VCSELs with epitaxially grown III-V gain mediumhave been shown with tunable spectral emission at much lower actuationvoltages. However, these VCSELs lase in the infrared part of thespectrum and are limited in scalability due to the size of thesingle-crystal wafers on which lasers are fabricated.

Nevertheless, the key advantage of the lower operating voltage of theseVCSELs is enabled by the lithographic fabrication processes that definethe small physical dimensions of these structures, which can lead tolarge electric fields (and hence sufficient electromechanical force)even at small applied voltages. Thus, in this work we considered similarhigh-resolution schemes for fabricating organic VCSELs, but with thechallenge of avoiding the organic film exposure to solvents and elevatedtemperatures, both of which can deleteriously affect the organic gainmaterials.

In certain embodiments of the disclosure, an integrated organic air-gapMEMS is fabricated by using an additive solvent-free membrane transfertechnique disclosed above. The technique can be applied to fabricationof scalable, large area, device arrays. Unlike the conventional tunableVCSEL, the disclosed suspended membrane-cavity structure can be actuatedelectrically as well as mechanically. Such actuation makes the devicesuitable for use as a contactless-readout pressure sensor.

FIG. 8A shows a schematic cross-section of a completed array of devices.The lasing resonator of the VCSEL structure is formed by the verticalcavity between a bottom planar distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) and amovable silver mirror layer, which is part of the composite topmembrane. A 500 nm-thick layer of tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum(Alq₃) doped with4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran (DCM)was employed as the organic gain medium inside the resonator. Uponphotoexcitation, excitons are generated inside the Alga host and undergothe Forster resonant energy transfer (FRET) to the DCM dopant moleculeswhere they recombine to produce luminescence. The DCM molecules have abroad visible photoluminescence (gain) spectrum ranging 100 nm inwavelength (λ), thus enabling a broad tunable range of the resultingVCSEL structure.

The device of FIG. 8A was fabricated on a glass substrate coated with a150 nm-thick indium tin oxide (ITO) layer that served as a bottomelectrode. Alternating layers of SiO₂ and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) weresputter-deposited on top of ITO to form a distributed Bragg reflector(DBR) mirror with a 100 nm stop-band centered at λ=620 nm, matching thepeak photoluminescence (PL) emission of the organic gain medium. An SU-8photoresist spacer layer, which in one set of devices was about 1micrometer thick and in the second set of devices was about 570 nmthick, was then deposited and circular cavities 100 μm in diameter werepatterned thereon. In another embodiment the disclosed techniques wereapplied to fabricate cavities in the range of 25-100 microns andcomposite membrane covering the cavities.

The top membrane of FIG. 8A was fabricated separately on a glass carriersubstrate, starting with a 300 nm-thick structural support layer ofparylene-C, which was chemically vapor-deposited on the glass. On top ofthis parylene-C polymer membrane, a thermally evaporated stack of 500nm-thick layer of Alq₃:DCM (2.5% DCM doping) gain medium, about 100nm-thick silver mirror, and about 50 nm-thick gold contact electrodewere deposited in sequence. The completed membrane was attached to aflexible handle frame and mechanically delaminated from the glass.Supported only at the perimeter by the handle frame, the releasedcomposite membrane was then transferred in nitrogen atmosphere on top ofthe patterned SU-8 cavities to form suspended membrane cavities.Finally, the handle frame was removed, completing device fabrication.

Membrane deflection under electrostatic actuation was confirmed viaoptical interferometry (Wyko NT9100®, by Bruker Nano Inc.) The contourimage in FIG. 8B shows the deflection of the suspended membrane into theunderlying L=1 μm deep cavities when a 20 V bias was applied between thetop gold contact and the bottom ITO electrode. Increasing the appliedvoltage increased the electrostatic force between the membrane and thebottom electrode, hence, increasing the membrane deflection.

FIG. 9A plots the membrane deflection profiles for a range of appliedbiases from 0 to 20V for a single cavity, showing a maximum centerdeflection of nearly ΔL=60 nm at 20 V. The increasing membranedeflection at higher voltages results in a decreasing optical cavitylength, causing a blue-shift in cavity emission.

Optical measurements were performed using a microscope setup to focus aλ=400 nm pulsed excitation laser (1 kHz repetition rate, 100 fs pulseduration) through the planar DBR into the cavity. The excitationwavelength is outside the DBR stopband, allowing for efficientexcitation of the organic film. The same objective captures subsequentcavity mode emission, and the emission is focused into a gratingspectrograph (Princeton Instruments Acton SP2300®) with a charge-coupleddevice array detector (Princeton Instruments Pixis®) for spectralanalysis. In order to correlate cavity emission shift and membranedeflection, cavity emission spectra were collected with the same devicesbiased at the same actuation voltages as those used in the membranedeflection measurements. The optically pumped devices were tested in anitrogen-rich environment at atmospheric pressure to minimizephoto-oxidation damage to the organic gain medium.

A typical cavity mode luminescence emission spectrum of these MEMS VCSELdevices under a range of applied biases is plotted in FIG. 9B. As theapplied bias increases from 0V to 20 V, the cavity mode peak wavelengthsshift by over 10 nm and reversibly return to their initial values whenthe voltage bias is removed. Since membrane curvature, and hence cavitylength variation, increases with applied voltage, the cavity resonatorexperiences higher loss as evidenced by a slight decrease in peakintensity and increase in cavity mode width with increasing appliedbias. The 30 μm excitation spot was centered to avoid the cavity edgeswhere the top mirror exhibits the largest curvature, which would causeadditional mode broadening and intensity loss.

FIG. 9C compares the shift in peak emission of the λ=592 nm cavity mode(blue circles) and the corresponding change in membrane profile (reddots) for the same cavity, zeroed to the peak wavelength at 0 V. Theerror bars reflect a range of measured deflections due to membraneroughness and increased deflection curvature within the approximately 30μm excitation spot size at each applied voltage bias; the relativelyconsistent error bar lengths suggest that cavity length variation withinthe excitation spot is dominated by membrane roughness rather thandeflection curvature. Given the calculated optical cavity length (4λ),peak wavelength shifts (Δλ) are expected to follow the relationship4Δλ=ΔL, where ΔL is the change in air-gap spacing due to membranedeflection; the scales of the y-axes in FIG. 9C reflect this relation.FIG. 9D shows the calculated average pressure across membrane due toapplied bias compared to observed change in cavity emission peakwavelength. The average electrostatic pressure at each voltage iscalculated using membrane deflections obtained via interferometry. Sinceboth the membrane deflection and electrostatic pressure scale with thesquare of the applied voltage, the calculated pressure is proportionalto the change in measured peak cavity emission, resulting in a devicepressure sensitivity of 85 Pa/nm.

The second set of devices with a thinner, 570 nm-thick, SU-8 spacerlayer were fabricated to reduce the actuation voltages and lasingthreshold. FIG. 10A plots the emission intensity of the 3λ, devicearound the lasing threshold. Device lasing operation, demonstrated inFIG. 10B, shows a typical input-power-dependent emission intensity andspectral mode linewidth, computed using the full-width half-maximum. Atpump powers over the lasing threshold of 200 μJ/cm² incident power, theobserved cavity modes reduce to a single lasing mode with significantlyincreased peak intensity. Concurrently, the emission linewidth of thecavity mode reduces to that of the monochromic lasing mode.

As previously observed for cavity modes in FIG. 9, the lasing modeblue-shifts with electrostatic actuation of the composite membrane. Forthe shorter cavities, a Δλ=10 nm laser mode shift occurs at a lowerapplied voltage of 6 V, as shown in FIG. 11A. The reversibility of thelaser spectral shifts is highlighted in FIG. 11B. The laser emissionhysteresis error is below 1 nm.

By varying the device geometry (e.g., spacer layer thickness, cavitydiameter and membrane thickness), the composite membrane-cavitystructure demonstrated in this work can be optimized to enable spectraltuning over a wider range at low voltages, thus utilizing the fullemission spectral range of the organic gain medium. One caveat is thatthe tunable range is limited by the need to avoid membrane pull-in andpermanent stiction of the membrane to the cavity bottom. Membranepull-in may occur in tunable electrostatic gaps when the attractiveelectrostatic force dominates the restoring elastic/spring force atlarger deflections. Additionally, the oxygen-sensitivity of the Alq₃:DCMlasing medium and resulting photo-bleaching degradation limits devicestability in non-inert environments, necessitating device encapsulationfor stable, long-term device operation. Photo-oxidation of the organicgain medium can be observed in both spectral shift and intensitydecrease over long periods of operation, resulting in loss of lasingmodes. Although the laser can be swept across a 10 nm range overrepeated optical excitation tests, the observed gradual blue-shift ofthe tuning range by a few nanometers points to the need for deviceencapsulation or, alternatively, replacement of the Alq₃:DCM system witha more air-stable, flexible gain medium.

The demonstrated device structure may be directed beyond the tunablelaser applications. Instead of electrostatically actuating the devicemembrane to tune the lasing frequency, the membrane can also bemechanically/pneumatically actuated to implement an optical, contactlessreadout pressure sensor, where shifts in the cavity emission wavelength(above or below lasing threshold) may be calibrated to indicate changesin pressure above the membrane. Assuming the same membrane deflectionunder equal mechanical pressures for both demonstrated device arrays,the estimated pressure sensitivity of the 4λ cavity in FIG. 9D suggestsa sensitivity of 64 Pa/nm for the thinner 3λ lasing device. The sensorresponse rate could potentially approach 2 MHz, as determined using alumped-parameter force-deflection model and assuming no viscous-dampinglosses in the deflecting membrane. The pressure sensor sampling ratecould also be limited by the lasing sampling rate above threshold; dueto triplet loss mechanism in the organic gain medium, organic lasersoften operate with repetition rates in the range of kHz. However, thisgain limitation may be circumvented by operating in cavity emission modeor by replacing the Alq3:DCM with materials supporting continuous wave(CW) or quasi-CW lasing operation.

Thus, an electrostatically tunable organic MEMS VCSEL, was enabled by asolvent-free additive membrane transfer fabrication technique accordingto the disclosed embodiments. Electrical actuation and opticalcharacterization of a typical device show spectral tuning of about Δλ 10nm at 6 V. Because the flexible composite membrane can be actuatedeither electrically or mechanically, these organic MEMS VCSEL structurescan be applied to both tunable lasing in the visible or near-infraredrange as well as all-optical, contactless, large area pressure-sensingapplications.

Fabrication and Other Applications of Transfer-Printed CompositeMembranes-The substitution of organic emissive materials for theinorganic emissive materials in tunable air-gap MEMS structures iscomplicated. Frequently, the organic semiconductors are incompatiblewith conventional MEMS and CMOS processes that involve exposure to wetchemistries, solvents, plasma or elevated process temperatures. In oneembodiment of the disclosure, fabrication of integrated tunable organicoptical microcavities is enabled by a solvent-free, additive membranetransfer process. By electrostatically actuating the composite membrane,we observe the cavity resonances shift by greater than 20 nm forestimated electrostatic pressures up to 2.5 kPa. Compared toconventional all-optical photonic crystal based pressure sensors, thedisclosed optically-pumped device potentially allows single-pointcontactless-readout for large area pressure sensor arrays. Additionally,the device structure and transfer technique are easily applicable tolarge area fabrication of electrostatically tuned organic lasers.

FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-section of the device structure and testsetup according to one embodiment of the disclosure. Themembrane-microcavity structure of FIG. 12 is formed by the additivetransfer of a 700 nm-thick composite membrane 1200 onto a pre-patternedsubstrate as discussed above. In contrast to the conventional additivetransfer printing of suspended gold membranes, the transfer methodreported here avoids the use of solvents, which can damage the organicactive layer Alq₃ doped with DCM. FIG. 12 also shows microscopeobjective 1210 for focusing laser excitation from laser source 1208through dichroic filter 1209. Focusing lens 1206 directs the returningemission to spectrograph 1204. FIG. 12 also shows a top view of thefabricated device array 1230.

FIG. 13 schematically illustrates the fabrication process for themembrane-microcavity structure of the device of FIG. 12. The processingsteps of FIG. 13 are shown in steps (a) through (e). At step (a), thebottom substrate consisting of a 12.7 mm×12.7 mm glass substrate iscoated with ITO, which serves as a transparent bottom electrode.Alternating layers of SiO₂ and TiO₂ were sputtered to form a DBR mirrorwith a 100 nm stop-band centered at about 620 nm, which matches the peakphotoluminescence (PL) emission of the organic layer. The DBR passes anexcitation wavelength of 400 nm with less than 10% reflectivity, butreflects over 98% of the emission wavelength of 620 nm. The final 1μm-thick layer of TiO₂ acts as an optical cavity spacer on top of theDBR. Circular cavities of about 50 μm in diameter and approximately 1 μmdeep were then patterned in a SU-8 layer atop the DBR stack asschematically illustrated at step (b).

The composite membrane is fabricated separately, starting with thechemical vapor deposition of a 300 nm thick layer of a transparentpolymer, parylene, onto a glass carrier substrate. This is shown at Step(d) of FIG. 13. A 250 nm-thick layer of Alq₃doped at 2.5% with DCM isthermally co-evaporated through a shadow mask onto both the membrane andthe cavity-patterned substrate as shown at step (e). Step (e) isoptional and may be applied depending on the desired devicefunctionality and specification. Next, a 100 nm-thick silver mirror anda 50 nm-thick gold contact are deposited in sequence onto the membraneas shown in step (f). The completed 700 nm thick composite membrane wasattached to a flexible cutout handle frame and released from the carrierby peeling.

FIG. 14A shows the contact transfer of membrane to the bottom substrateof FIG. 13. As illustrated in FIG. 14A, the membrane is transferred tothe cavity-patterned substrate and it adheres lightly to the substratedue to the bottom parylene layer. The frame (interchangeably, handle)1410 is then removed. The use of ultra-thin parylene enablessolvent-free transfer of a large area (8 mm×8 mm) composite membranethat encloses an array of microcavities when viewed from the top asshown in FIG. 12.

The composite membrane deflections under electrostatic actuation werecharacterized using an optical interferometer (Wyko NT9100, Bruker NanoInc.®). Specifically, voltage biases from about 0 V to about 50 V wereapplied between the top gold membrane contact and the bottom ITOelectrodes. The electrostatic force of attraction between the flexibletop membrane and the rigid bottom electrode causes the suspendedcomposite membrane to deflect into the circular cavities. The resultsare shown in FIG. 14B as membrane deflection profile for a plurality ofcavities as a function of applied voltage.

Specifically, FIG. 14B shows net membrane deflection over multiplecircular cavities. Optical interferometric measurement at 0 V wassubtracted from that at 50 V to generate the net deflection contourimage. The non-uniform deflection profiles over identical 50 μm-diametercavities reflect non-uniform tension across the membrane which may bedue to the transfer process.

FIG. 15 shows membrane deflection profile for a single cavity as afunction of applied voltage. The single cavity may define any cavityformed according to the disclosed techniques. For the single cavitydepicted in FIG. 15, the 700 nm-thick membrane has a maximum deflectionof about 106 nm when no voltage is applied and it increases to about 325nm at 50 V actuation. The deflection at 0 V is due to the transferredmembrane sagging into the cavity because of insufficient tension in themembrane. Membrane tension is not uniform across the membrane, resultingin varying maximum deflections across the multiple shown cavities asseen in FIG. 14B. At about 50 V applied bias, maximum deflections acrossthese cavities range from about 140 nm to about 290 nm. Thenon-uniformity may arise due to the membrane transfer process ratherthan the patterning of the bottom substrate.

The composite membrane undergoes reversible deflections over the rangeof applied voltages shown in FIG. 15. Since the maximum deflection, w₀,is on the order of the thickness, h, of the membrane, the theory ofbending of plates that is valid for deflections much smaller than thethickness of the plates is inapplicable. It is thus shown thatdeflection can be on the order of the thickness of the membrane itself.Hence, membrane deflections may be modeled using the energy method. Itmay be assumed that the deflection profile, w(r), of the membrane,obtained by applying spatially-uniform pressure, q, may be modeledaccording to Equation 1 as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{w(r)} = {w_{0}( {1 - \frac{r^{2}}{a^{2}}} )}^{2}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

where r is the radial distance from the center of the cavity of radiusa, and w is the deflection of the membrane at r. Since the deflection ofthe membrane is non-zero when no voltage is applied, we fit the aboveequation to the difference in the membrane deflection at any appliedvoltage and at 0 V.

FIG. 16 shows net membrane deflection for a MEMS device formed accordingto one embodiment of the disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 16 shows the fitof the deflection profile from Equation (1) to the measured netdeflection profile at about 50 V. This close fit implies that theradially varying electrostatic pressure, q(r), acting on the membrane atany non-zero applied voltage can be approximated as an effective uniformpressure, qeff, using Equation (2) as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{2\pi {\int_{0}^{a}{{q\ (r)}\delta \; {w_{0}( {1 - \frac{r^{2}}{a^{2}}} )}^{2}r{r}}}} = {2\pi \; q_{eff}{\int_{0}^{a}{\delta \; {w_{0}( {1 - \frac{r^{2}}{a^{2}}} )}^{2}r\ {{r}.}}}}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

The effective pressure is then used to calculate the effective Young'smodulus, E, of the composite membrane. At about 50 V actuation,q_(eff)is 2.5 kPa for the cavity shown in FIG. 15. Assuming a Poisson'sratio of 0.4 for the 700 nm-thick composite membrane, the effective E is4 GPa. The estimated Young's modulus can be comparable to that of otherorganic films, suggesting that the mechanical deflection characteristicsof the composite membrane in the large deflection regime are primarilydue to its organic film constituents.

Optical measurements were performed using a 400 nm excitation laser at 1kHz repetition rate with averaged pulse energy of 0.2 nJ. As illustratedin FIG. 12, microscope objective 1210 focused a collimated laser beamthrough the planar DBR into the cavity. The same objective 1210 capturedsubsequent cavity mode emission. A 405 nm long pass filter 1209 divertedany residual laser light from laser source 1208, and the emission isfocused by lens 1206 into a grating spectrograph 1204 for spectralanalysis. The laser excited the optically active organic Alq₃:DCM layer,which had a broad emission spectrum. The organic photoluminescence wasenhanced by the vertical resonator cavity created by the planar DBR andthe silver mirror layer within the composite membrane 1200.

FIG. 17 shows an exemplary longitudinal mode emission spectra for arange of applied voltages for the exemplary device according to oneembodiment of the disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 17 shows typicalmeasured spectra of the longitudinal cavity mode of the structureillustrated in FIG. 12. The cavity length was tuned to provide theobserved change in device emission wavelengths by electrostaticallyactuating the composite membrane. The emission of the device showsreversible tuning over 20 nm. Each longitudinal mode emission was fittedto a Gaussian function to find mode peak and width.

FIG. 18 plots the fitted peak of the measured 637 nm cavity mode, thecentral peak shown in FIG. 17. FIG. 17 shows a reversible blue shift ofmode emission up to 23 nm or a 3.6% change in peak wavelength. Thedevice fabricated according to the disclosed embodiments had a totaloptical path length of approximately 6.34 μm as calculated using themeasured free spectral range, which is defined by the separation betweenthe spectral mode peaks. This corresponds to approximately 20longitudinal modes or 10 wavelengths within the vertical cavityresonator. Thus, the total physical deflection of the composite membranescales by a factor of 10, resulting in an estimated membrane deflectionof 230 nm at 50 V. The calculated membrane deflection from the opticaldata is indicated on the right vertical axis of FIG. 18. FIG. 18 alsoplots, in shaded grey, the maximum and minimum deflection from theinterferometry data for the corresponding voltages. The opticalresonance shift is in good agreement with the interferometrymeasurements.

Since the electrostatic force on the membrane is proportional to thesquare of the applied voltage, a quadratic relationship between themembrane deflection and the applied voltage is observed. Consequently,peak emission shift is proportional to the square of the appliedvoltage. This relationship does not hold at high voltages as themembranes have been observed to collapse into the patterned cavities dueto pull-in, and stiction prevents further electrostatic modulation ofmembrane deflection.

FIGS. 12-18 demonstrate the use of a solvent-free additive membranetransfer technique in an electrostatically tunable organic device.Electrical actuation and optical characterization of a completed deviceshow spectral tuning greater than 20 nm for membrane deflections of over200 nm at about 50 V. Shorter optical cavities with fewer modes,fabricated using the disclosed embodiments, may yield higher tunablerange at a lower applied voltage. With high tunable range and mechanicalpressure sensitivity, the demonstrated device structure may be appliedto pressure sensing and tunable organic lasing device applications. Thecomposite membrane elements can be varied in both geometry andcomposition to optimize device performance and to explore other physicalphenomenon.

While the principles of the disclosure have been illustrated in relationto the exemplary embodiments shown herein, the principles of thedisclosure are not limited thereto and include any modification,variation or permutation thereof. Further, the ranges provided hereinare exemplary and demonstrative. The provided ranges include any subsetof other values within the range and other specific range or numberwithin the disclosed broader range.

1-36. (canceled)
 37. A tunable light emitting device, comprising: abottom electrode layer; one or more tunable mirrors; a spacer layerhaving a plurality of cavities separated by a plurality of ridges; and acomposite membrane having a parylene layer and an optically activelayer, the composite membrane configured to cover the plurality ofcavities and to provide one or more optical emissions within areflective range of the one or more tunable mirrors.
 38. The tunabledevice of claim 37, wherein the one or more tunable mirrors include afirst tunable mirror to cover at least portion of the bottom electrodelayer.
 39. The tunable device of claim 38, wherein the one or moretunable mirror further comprises a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR)layer.
 40. The tunable device of claim 39, wherein the DBR layer isformed from alternating layers of optically transparent indexcontrasting materials including SiO₂ and TiO₂.
 41. The tunable device ofclaim 37, wherein the optically active layer further comprises anemissive organic layer, a quantum dot layer, a polymer layer or acombination thereof.
 42. The tunable device of claim 37, wherein theoptically active layer further comprises Alga doped with DCM and has athickness of about 200 nm to about 1 micron.
 43. The tunable device ofclaim 37, wherein the parylene layer has a thickness in the range ofabout 100 nm-2 microns; 100 nm-1 microns, 200-300 nm, 300-500 nm, 500 nmto 1 micron and 1-30 microns.
 44. The tunable device of claim 37,wherein at least one of the plurality of adjacent ridges form an acuteangle with the composite membrane.
 45. The tunable device of claim 37,further comprising a power source for applying a bias between the bottomelectrode layer and a top electrode formed in the composite membrane.46. The tunable device of claim 37, wherein the tunable device isconfigured to provide a membrane deflection of about 60 nm responsive toa bias of about 20V.
 47. The tunable device of claim 37, wherein theoptically active layer is excited to cause a cavity mode emission andwherein the cavity mode emission changes color in response to theexternal pressure on the membrane.
 48. The tunable device of claim 37,wherein the optically active layer is excited by an external lightsource including a LED or a Laser.
 49. The tunable device of claim 48,wherein the external light source is modulated to create a lasing actionin the cavity.
 50. The tunable device of claim 49, wherein the lasingaction in the cavity changes color in response to the external pressureon the composite membrane.
 51. The tunable device of claim 37, whereinthe one or more tunable mirrors include a conductive second mirror. 52.The tunable device of claim 37, further comprising a detector toidentify an optical spectral change due to a change in cavity geometry.53. A method to cause a lasing or a cavity mode in an optically tunabledevice, the method comprising: applying a first bias between a bottomelectrode and a metallic membrane positioned across a cavity from thebottom electrode, the first bias decreasing the distance between themetallic membrane and the bottom electrode in the cavity and therebycausing an optical emission with wavelengths within a reflective rangeof a first tunable mirror and a second tunable mirror; wherein the firsttunable mirror is positioned proximal to the bottom electrode and thesecond tunable mirror is positioned proximal to the metallic membrane.54. The method of claim 53, wherein the metallic membrane defines acomposite membrane having a parylene layer and an optically activelayer, the composite membrane configured to cover the cavity and toprovide one or more optical emissions within a reflective range of theone or more tunable mirrors.
 55. The method of claim 53, furthercomprising positioning the first tunable mirror to cover at leastportion of the bottom electrode.
 56. The method of claim 53, wherein atleast one of the first tunable mirror or the second tunable mirrorsfurther comprises a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) layer.
 57. Themethod of claim 56, wherein the DBR layer is formed from alternatinglayers of optically transparent index contrasting materials includingSiO₂ and TiO₂.
 58. The method of claim 53, further comprising forming anoptically active layer adjacent the metallic membrane, the opticallyactive layer comprising an emissive organic layer, a quantum dot layer,a polymer layer or a combination thereof.
 59. The method of claim 58,wherein the optically active layer further comprises Alga doped with DCMand has a thickness of about 200 nm to about 1 micron.
 60. The method ofclaim 59, wherein the optically active layer is excited to cause acavity mode emission and wherein the cavity mode emission changes colorin response to the external pressure on the membrane.
 61. The method ofclaim 53, further comprising forming a parylene layer adjacent themetallic membrane, wherein the parylene layer has a thickness in therange of about 100 nm-2 microns; 100 nm-1 microns, 200-300 nm, 300-500nm, 500 nm to 1 micron and 1-30 microns.
 62. The method of claim 53,wherein the first bias is configured to provide a membrane deflection ofabout 60 nm responsive to a bias of about 20V.